The Mansudae Apartments () is a 17-building high-rise residential complex in Pyongyang, North Korea, inaugurated on April 15, 2012. Buildings 1 and 2 are the tallest in the hierarchy of the complex, standing at 146 metres (480 ft) tall each, both being divided into 45 floors.
History The complex was part of a bigger housing project which spread over the entire Mansudae Street in Pyongyang. The groundbreaking took place in July 2008. The structural work of each building started in late 2011 and was completed only 87 days later on April 15, 2012, when the entire complex was inaugurated specially for Day of the Sun which represented Kim Il Sung's 100th birthday.
The complex only hosts apartments for the higher social classes of the regime. The apartments were reportedly distributed to other people as well by the government on black market due to the value of the home transactions falling by as high as 85 percent at the end of 2013.
The complex shares the same urbanistic principles from the late 1970s soviet era. In order to maintain standardization while maximizing diversity, architects begun to develop some compromises that combine urban planning and economic convenience. The buildings resembles the totalitarian architecture style very widespread and common in North Korea with a touch of postmodernism.
Buildings NameImageHeightm (ft)FloorsRef. Building 1 45 Building 2 Building 3 40 Building 8A 35 Building 8B Building 4 32 Building 5 Building 9A 33 Building 9B Building 10A 25 Building 10B Building 12 Building 11 20 Building 13 Building 14 Building 6 15 Building 7
See also List of tallest buildings in North Korea
References
External links Mansudae Apartments 3 at Skyscraper page